bowmanized

The Corvette uses a closed loop system for the brake fluid. Meaning the fluid doesn't flow back out or through. So the fluid will, for the most part, stay in the hose/caliper end. So if you only change the fluid in the resevoir you'll be leaving the old fluid in the most important part, the lines and caliper.

It would help you if you want to speed up the process of getting the new clear fluid to the calipers however. The easiest way to do it is to get the speed bleeders and gravity bleed.

If you don't want to change it often, I would spring for the Castrol SRF fluid. It lasts a lot longer than the others but it's very expensive.

Zig

kinda reminds me of that 'bell helmet tagline'. "got a $50 head, get a $50 helmet"

Racer86

don't kid yourself, bleed the calipers as many stated above. brake fluid is hydroscopic,,,,, it attracts water. The water collects in the calipers,.Get the brakes hot, and that water flashes to steam. Steam is compressable,,,,, Brake petal goes to the floor. Its called brake failure.
That is why you must bleed the system correctly. Its not about what color your brake fluid is.
Bleed the brakes correctly or don't get on any road race course. Its not safe, and you don't have the right to expose other drivers to your lazy car preparation. If you don't feel like you want to do this, have a professional do it. Much cheaper than an accident on track.
Sorry, don't mean to disrespect anyone, but this is serious stuff.

naschmitz

The brake fluid doesn't boil in the master cylinder. Duh.

foliva

To clarify an earlier post -- I would agree that if you run high speed events that place significant stress on the braking system, proper bleeding is the only way to go.

However, as I stated in my earlier post, my specific application does not include high speed events -- only Solo II Autocross. In this case, bleeding the brakes before/after every event never seemed necessary. At least not in the 8 years I've been doing this.

While the system is a closed system, I would think that there is still some natural diffusion of the old/new fluid. A regular protocol of changing the fluid would have to help. Doesn't the clutch fluid diffuse in a similar manner?

WRT the the hydroscopic nature of the fluid, again, I would agree that
you would to do a full bleed to get any water that may have accumulated in the system out. But, again, I'm not sure that a predominatly street driven/occasionally Autocrossed vehicle would need to have it's brakes bled as frequently as a race (or raced) car would.

C6~Missle

Power bleeders are more than helpful.. They make the job quick and they keep you from over extending the rubber boot on the master cylinder which can tear as the pedal travels to the floor beyond its normal range.

fenderowner

Guess I don't understand this "power bleeder" thing. How is this any different than the OEM brake bleed, that you loosen with a wrench, press down on the brake pedal, then tighten back up after fluid/air escapes? Other than the check valve ball in the speed setup, I don't quite get the advantage. I am obviously missing something here...help!

NEVER MIND...just read the literature (when all else fails, read the manual, dummy!). Now I understand. That IS cool. Sorry for my initial ignorance!

C6~Missle

Power bleeders are very cool... I also have a vacuum pump which works but not near as well as pressurizing the master cyl and bleeding each corner with ease. You can also buy different adapters for the brake cyl or get a universal one..